Contact-bonding film insertion means included in contact-bonding paper manufacturing apparatus

ABSTRACT

A contact-bonding film insertion device included in a contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus which produces releasable and expandable contact-bonded paper such as postcards (Q) by inserting a contact-bonding film (F) carried on a vertically movable support plate ( 51 ) between opposed paper pieces (Pa, Pb) of folded cut paper (P) by a paper pushing device ( 60 ), the cut paper (P) having been transferred by a paper transfer device ( 20 ) and folded by a paper folding device ( 30 ), and subsequently by extracting the support plate ( 51 ) from the paper piece (Pa, Pb) by a support plate extracting device ( 55 ) to supply the paper (P) into which only the contact-bonding film F is inserted to a paper contact-bonding device ( 70 ) and paper cutting device ( 80 ), a slope ( 51   y ) which is downward-inclined toward its tip to form substantially an acute angle at the tip is provided on a periphery ( 51   x ) of the support plate ( 51 ) included in the contact-bonding film insertion device, the periphery ( 51   x ) which includes the slope ( 51   y ) having a shape being preferably curved upward with respect to the main body of the support plate ( 51 ). This structure allows smooth insertion of the contact-bonding film (F) between the paper piece (Pa, Pb) without occurrence of jamming or other problem even if the paper (P) is extremely curled to have concave and convex deformations on its surface through printing or other process.

This application is a U.S. National Stage application of co-pending PCTapplication PCT/JP03/007969 filed Jun. 23, 2003, which claims thepriority of Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-222180, filed Jun. 26,2002; Japanese Patent Application No. 2002-382853, filed Nov. 29, 2002;and Japanese Patent Application No. 383792, filed Dec. 27, 2002. Theseapplications are incorporated herein by reference in there entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to contact-bonded paper manufacturingapparatus which uses cut paper for manufacturing contact-bonded paperavailable for the production of direct mails, postcards, doublepostcards, sealed letters and so forth. More specifically, the inventionrelates to contact-bonding film insertion means included incontact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus for manufacturingcontact-bonded paper from cut paper which is folded into multiple layersand releasably contact-bonded with a contact-bonding film interposedbetween the layers, whereby a large volume of information can beconcealed inside the paper in spite of ordinary appearances as directmails, postcards, double postcards, sealed letters and the like.

BACKGROUND ART

Recently, contact-bonded paper has been used for increasing numbers ofpostal matters such as postcards so as to transmit a large quantity ofinformation. The contact-bonded paper is manufactured by: folding paperwhich is formed by a plurality of paper pieces including information andconnected with each other along folding lines; and subsequentlycontact-bonding the opposed paper pieces such that each piece isreleasable.

For example, JP-A-5-38894 and JP-A-9-76665 propose apparatus formanufacturing such type of contact-bonded paper which basicallyincludes: paper transfer means for sequentially transferring each paperfrom a paper supply section along a predetermined paper transfer path,which paper is formed by connecting a plurality of paper pieces alongfolding lines; paper folding means for folding each paper on the papertransfer path; contact-bonding film supply means for sequentiallysupplies an elongated contact-bonding film along a predeterminedcontact-bonding film supply path, which contact-bonding film includestwo-layered transparent film each layer of which is releasably bonded toeach other and bonding layers each disposed on front and back surfacesof the contact-bonding film to provide adhesion when heated orpressurized; contact-bonding film insertion means for inserting thecontact-bonding film between any opposed paper pieces of the foldedpaper at an intersection of the paper transfer path downstream from thepaper folding means and the contact-bonding film supply path; papercontact-bonding means for releasably bonding both the paper pieces ofthe paper into which the contact-bonding film is inserted while beingpressurized or while being heated and pressurized with thecontact-bonding film interposed between the paper pieces on the papertransfer path downstream from the contact-bonding film insertion means;and paper cutting means for cutting the paper into which thecontact-bonding film is inserted to a predetermined size on the papertransfer path upstream or downstream from the paper contact-bondingmeans.

When the contact-bonded paper manufactured by the apparatus is openedfrom the paper pieces thus contact-bonded, the two layers of thetransparent film inserted between the paper pieces are separated fromeach other, whereby the contact-bonded paper is expanded with theinformation surface of each paper piece simultaneously covered with thetransparent film in such a condition that the information on each paperpiece is visually recognizable through the transparent film.

The contact-bonded paper has high concealability such as privacyprotection since the information on each paper piece is not visuallyrecognized from outside until the paper is released and expanded by areceiver. Additionally, transmission cost for a fixed volume ofinformation is greatly reduced since much more information can betransmitted by the contact-bonded paper at normal charge than by asingle piece of mail. Furthermore, as the information on each piece iscovered with the transparent film, preservation, water-resistance anddirt-resistance of the information is enhanced and also the appearanceof the information is improved, which promotes information transmissionand advertisement activities and offers other advantages.

However, the above-described apparatuses are generally mass-productiontypes, which are appropriate for the production of notices transmittedto a great number of members from large entities such as mail-orderselling companies or correspondence schools. When medium or small-sizedenterprises use the large-scale manufacturing apparatus of these typesto send notices to a small number of members at regular intervals, forexample, the unit cost for manufacturing the contact-bonded paperdrastically rises and it is thus difficult to employ the apparatus forthe production of the contact-bonded paper in small lots.

Especially, contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus disclosed inJP-A-5-38894 uses continuous form paper and thus requires a specializedcontinuous form printer for printing the continuous form paper. However,printers such as those generally used for the output of personalcomputers in medium or small-sized companies or at home are unavailablefor printing the continuous form paper.

Contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus disclosed in JP-A-9-76665uses non-continuous cut paper transferred one by one, and thus the aboveproblem does not arise. However, contact-bonding film insertion meansincluded in the apparatus requires a complicated process of continuouslyinserting a contact-bonding film between opposed paper pieces oftransferred paper at the step of folding the paper while supplying thecontact-bonding film at the same speed as that of the paper.

Development of an invention pertaining to contact-bonded papermanufacturing apparatus which uses cut paper and has a simple andminiaturized structure and whose means for inserting contact-bondingfilm between paper pieces is particularly improved has been completed byJDL Engineering Co., LTD. with the cooperation of the applicant of thepresent invention, and the application of this invention was filed onMay 2, 2002, with the application No. 2001-296979. This patentapplication is currently co-owned by JDL Engineering Co., LTD and KDKCo., LTD that is the applicant of the present invention.

Contact-bonding film insertion means included in the contact-bondedpaper manufacturing apparatus disclosed in patent application No.2001-296979 includes: a support plate disposed at the intersection of apaper transfer path downstream from paper folding means andcontact-bonding film supply path to be vertically movable and carry asupplied contact-bonding film on its upper surface; support platedriving means for vertically moving the support plate, which drivingmeans lowers the support plate and the contact-bonding film as one bodyand thereby pushes down a lower paper piece so as to forcedly open aspace between paper pieces when paper folded such that the lower paperpiece is slightly longer than the upper paper piece is transferred tothe intersection and the upper paper piece of the paper is disposedupstream from the support plate and the lower paper piece is disposedbelow the support plate; and paper pushing means for pushing the paperhaving an open space between the paper pieces to the support platecarrying the contact-bonding film and thereby simultaneously insertingthe support plate and the contact-bonding film into the space betweenthe paper pieces. The apparatus practically requires support plateextracting means for extracting only the support plate from the paperinto which the support plate and the contact-bonding film have beeninserted and thereby leaving only the contact-bonding film insertedbetween the paper pieces.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present inventors repeatedly carried out their own experimentsconcerning the contact-bonding film insertion means having the abovestructure under various conditions, and found that the contact-bondingfilm insertion means using a support plate has the following problem.When paper which is heated to high temperature during printing in sometypes of printers, some methods of printing and some printing conditionsis extremely curled to have concave and convex deformations on itssurface, the upper paper piece of the folded paper becomes wavy andhangs down toward the lower paper piece. In this case, the space betweenthe paper pieces is not sufficiently opened when the lower paper pieceis pushed down by the downward movement of the support plate asdescribed above, and thus the contact-bonding film is not smoothlyinserted between the paper pieces in the manner as described above.

Wherefore, it is an object of the present invention to providecontact-bonding film insertion means included in contact-bonded papermanufacturing apparatus using cut paper and capable of smoothlyinserting a contact-bonding film between paper pieces of folded paperwithout occurrence of jamming or other problem even if paper curled tohave concave and convex deformations on its surface due to printing isused.

A first aspect of the present invention is contact-bonding filminsertion means included in contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatuswhich comprises: paper transfer means for sequentially transferring cutpaper from a paper supply section along a predetermined paper transferpath, which cut paper is formed by connecting a plurality of paperpieces with each other along folding lines; paper folding means forfolding each paper on the paper transfer path; contact-bonding filmsupply means for sequentially supplying an elongated contact-bondingfilm along a predetermined contact-bonding film supply path, whichcontact-bonding film includes a two-layered transparent film whoselayers are releasably bonded to each other and adhesive layers eachdisposed on front and back surfaces of the contact-bonding film toprovide adhesion when pressurized or when heated and pressurized;contact-bonding film insertion means for inserting the contact-bondingfilm between any opposed paper pieces of the folded paper at anintersection of the paper transfer path downstream from the paperfolding means and the contact-bonding film supply path; papercontact-bonding means for releasably bonding both the paper pieces ofthe paper into which the contact-bonding film is inserted, via thecontact-bonding film by pressurizing or by heating and pressurizing onthe paper transfer path downstream from the contact-bonding filminsertion means; and paper cutting means for cutting the paper intowhich the contact-bonding film is inserted to a predetermined size onthe paper transfer path upstream or downstream from the papercontact-bonding means, the contact-bonding film insertion means having astructure which includes:

a vertically movable support plate disposed at the intersection to carrythe supplied contact-bonding film on its upper surface; support platedriving means capable of driving the support plate in the verticaldirection for lowering the support plate and the contact-bonding film asone body and thereby pushing down a lower paper piece so as to forcedlyopen a space between the paper pieces when the paper folded such thatthe lower paper piece is slightly longer than the upper paper piece istransferred to the intersection and the upper paper piece of the paperis disposed upstream from the support plate and the lower paper piece isdisposed below the support plate; paper pushing means for pushing thepaper having an open space between the paper pieces to the support platecarrying the contact-bonding film and thereby simultaneously insertingthe support plate and the contact-bonding film between the paper pieces;and support plate extracting means for extracting only the support platefrom the paper into which the support plate and the contact-bonding filmhave been inserted and thereby leaving only the contact-bonding filminserted between the paper pieces,

characterized in that a periphery of the support plate on the side to beinserted between the paper pieces has a slope which is downward-inclinedtoward the tip of the periphery to form substantially an acute angle atthe tip.

According to the above structure, the acute-angled tip of the slopeformed in the periphery of the support plate is inserted into the openspace between the paper pieces as the paper having the open spacebetween the paper pieces is pushed toward the support plate carrying thecontact-bonding film by the paper pushing means. The upper paper pieceslidingly overrides the slope of the support plate due to the wedgeshape of the slope, thereby forcedly opening the space between the paperpieces. Accordingly, the support plate and the contact-bonding film canbe smoothly inserted between the paper pieces.

In the above structure, even if the paper is curled to have concave andconvex deformations on its surface due to printing and thereby the upperpaper piece hangs down and the space between the paper pieces isinsufficiently opened after the operation of the support plate drivingmeans, the tip of the slope of the support plate is easily inserted intothe insufficiently opened space between the paper pieces, therebyraising the upper paper piece utilizing its wedge shape and forcedlyopening the space between the paper pieces.

In the above structure, when the slope extends above the periphery ofthe support plate on the side to be inserted between the paper pieces,more preferably when the slope extends above the periphery of thecontact-bonding film carried on the support plate on the side to beinserted between the paper pieces, the upper paper piece slidinglyoverrides the slope of the support plate, further passes through the topof the slope and overrides the upper surface of the contact-bonding filmwith ease. Accordingly, the support plate and the contact-bonding filmcan be more smoothly inserted between the paper pieces.

The cut paper to be supplied to the contact-bonding film insertion meansis not only the simplest type of paper formed by folding two paperpieces connected with each other into two layers, but may be such paperwhich is formed by folding three paper pieces connected with one anotherinto three layers in a zigzag direction having a Z-shaped cross sectionor in a single direction having a C-shaped cross section, by foldingfour or more paper pieces connected with one another in a zigzagdirection in the shape of a bellows or in a single direction in theshape of a roll, by folding the paper pieces from both sides toward thecenter like double doors opening outwards, or by folding the paperpieces by a mixture of the above methods. The contact-bonding film canbe inserted between any opposed paper pieces of paper of any typesdescribed above. The material of the paper is not limited to ordinarypaper, but may be synthetic paper, plastic films and sheets, cloth, andother sheets in a variety of fields.

The paper transfer means, the paper folding means, the contact-bondingfilm supply means, the paper contact-bonding means, and the papercutting means are not specifically limited but may be known means. Sincethe paper cutting means cuts the paper which contains the elongatedcontact-bonding film inserted into the space between the paper pieces toa predetermined size, the paper cutting means cuts the paper pieces aswell as the contact-bonding film as necessary. The paper into which thecontact-bonding film is inserted may be supplied from the papercontact-bonding means to the paper cutting means, or may be suppliedfrom the paper cutting means to the paper contact-bonding means,depending on the necessities.

The material of the support plate used in the contact-bonding filminsertion means is not specifically limited as long as it hasappropriate strength and flatness for carrying the contact-bonding filmon its upper surface and inserting the contact-bonding film between thepaper pieces as described above, and thus metal, plastic, ceramic andother material and composite materials of these may be used. Thevertical movement of the support plate may be achieved preferably via asupport shaft. When the support plate is made from ferromagnetic metalsuch as stainless steel or composite material of those metals and othermaterials, a simple structure in which the support plate is verticallymoved by exciting and de-exiting an electromagnet can be adopted. Whenthe support plate is movable via the support shaft as described above, astructure that rotates the support shaft so as to move the support platemay be adopted as the support plate driving means, for example.

The function of the paper pushing means included in the contact-bondingfilm insertion means may be performed by the paper transfer means fortransferring the folded paper to the intersection of the paper transferpath and the contact-bonding film supply path, for example.Alternatively, the paper pushing means may be performed by papershifting means for shifting the paper having been pushed by the papertransfer means to a certain position to the final position, the papershifting means and the paper transfer means cooperating with each other.The paper shifting means may have a structure that pushes the rear endof the folded paper to a predetermined position shaft by moving a barthrough a predetermined angle via a support, for example.

The support plate extracting means included in the contact-bonding filminsertion means may have the following structure, for example. A notchis provided on the support plate, and a pair of feed rollers is opposedto each other at the position of the notch above and below the supportplate. The paper containing the support plate and the contact-bondingfilm completely inserted between the paper pieces is pressed by a pairof the feed rollers from above and below at the intersection, whilebeing transferred downstream from the intersection by the rotation ofthe feed rollers. Consequently, the support plate positioned at thenotch is not pressed nor transferred by the feed rollers but remains atthe intersection, whereby the paper containing only the contact-bondingfilm inserted between the paper pieces can be transferred from theintersection.

The shape, the formation method and other conditions of the slope formedin the periphery of the support plate are not specifically limited aslong as the slope can raise the upper paper piece to forcedly open thespace between the paper pieces by utilizing its wedge shape inaccordance with the operation of the paper pushing means as describedabove. The slope may have a linear or curved cross section, or a mixtureof these cross sections, for example. The slope may extend above orbelow the periphery of the support plate on the side to be insertedbetween the paper pieces. The slope may be formed integrally with theperiphery of the support plate, or formed by a separate componentattached to the periphery of the support plate, such as a separatecomponent having a wedge-shaped cross section. The separate componentmay be made from not only the material of the support plate but alsoother materials such as metal, plastic, ceramic, paper, cloth, andsynthetic paper.

In addition, in the periphery of the support plate in which the slope isformed, a contact portion in the shape such as step, edge, or bendedshape may be disposed adjacent to the rear of the slope for guiding theperiphery of the contact-bonding film on the side to be inserted betweenthe paper pieces. The contact portion allows the contact-bonding film tobe positioned with respect to the support plate in a more stable andreliable manner. The height of the contact portion is not required toexceed the height of the upper surface of the contact-bonding film to beguided.

When the slope extends above the periphery of the support plate on theside to be inserted between the paper pieces or further extends abovethe periphery of the contact-bonding film carried on the support plateon the side to be inserted between the paper pieces as described above,there is a difference in height between the top of the slope and theperiphery of the support plate or the contact-bonding film. In thisarrangement, the contact portion can be easily formed adjacent to therear of the slope. The tip of the slope formed in the periphery of thesupport plate may be chamfered or processed to have an R shape or amixture of those shapes within a range where the expected functions andadvantages of the slope are not deteriorated, for the purpose ofprevention of danger and damage of the paper caused by the acute-angledtip of the slope.

In the contact-bonding film insertion means as described above, theproblem that the space between the paper pieces is not sufficientlyopened due to the hanging-down condition of the upper paper piece can besolved by providing the slope which is disposed in the periphery of thesupport plate and is downward-inclined toward its tip to formsubstantially an acute angle at the tip. However, if paper which hasbeen curled due to printing is transferred to the intersection in thecondition where the lower paper piece is greatly curved upward, theperiphery of the lower paper piece is not inserted below the supportplate as desired but overrides the periphery and thus the slope of thesupport plate. As a result, the lower paper piece cannot be pushed downby the downward movement of the support plate effected by the supportplate driving means, and thus the subsequent step of inserting thesupport plate and the contact-bonding film between the paper piecescannot be carried out.

This problem can be solved by contact-bonding film insertion meansincluded in contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus in a secondaspect of the invention. In the contact-bonding film insertion meanswhich uses a support plate having a slope in its periphery, theperiphery having the slope is curved upward with respect to the mainbody of the support plate, thereby providing a wide open space below thesupport plate.

According to the above structure, when the lower paper piece of thefolded paper is transferred to the intersection in the condition thatthe periphery of the lower paper piece is curved upward, the lower paperpiece can easily slide into the wide open space below the periphery ofthe support plate which is curved upward. Thus, the lower paper piececan be pushed down by the downward movement of the support plate andsubsequently the support plate and the contact-bonding film can benormally inserted between the paper pieces utilizing the wedge shape ofthe slope.

The curved shape of the periphery of the support plate in which theslope is formed is not specifically limited as long as the slope has theadvantage of the wedge shape and the periphery of the support plateallows the lower paper piece curved upward to slide below the periphery.The cross section of the curved periphery may be linear or curved, or amixture of these shapes.

Contact-bonding film insertion means included in contact-bonded papermanufacturing apparatus in a third aspect of the present invention isalso developed to solve the problem which occurs when paper curled dueto printing is transferred to the intersection in the condition that theperiphery of the lower paper piece is greatly curved upward. In thestructure of the contact-bonding film insertion means which uses asupport plate having a slope formed in its periphery, the periphery ofthe support plate in which the slope is formed is temporarily raised bythe support plate raising means before the lower paper piece of thepaper transferred to the intersection reaches the support plate, therebyproviding a wide open space below the support plate at the time the openspace is required.

According to the above structure, when the lower paper piece of thefolded paper is transferred to the intersection in the condition thatthe periphery of the lower paper piece is curved upward, the lower paperpiece can easily slide into the wide open space below the periphery ofthe support plate which is curved upward by the support plate raisingmeans. Thus, the lower paper piece can be pushed down by the downwardmovement of the support plate and subsequently the support plate and thecontact-bonding film can be normally inserted between the paper piecesutilizing the wedge shape of the slope.

The support plate having the slope on its periphery may be either theone included in the contact-bonding film insertion means in the firstaspect or the one included in the contact-bonding film insertion meansin the second aspect. When the latter type of the support plate isadopted, the periphery of the support plate that is curved upward isfurther raised by the support plate raising means. Thus, a wider openspace below the support plate can be provided for the lower paper pieceof the paper transferred to the intersection.

The support plate raising means may be a structure in which the supportplate is raised by a push rod disposed below the support plate anddriven by driving means such as solenoid and other electromagnetic meansand mechanical means to raise the support plate, a structure in whichthe support plate is raised by the rotation of the support shaft whenthe support plate is movable via the support shaft, a structure in whichthe function of the support plate driving means is expanded such that itcan raise the support plate, or other structures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A through 1C are side views each illustrating a main part of amechanism for inserting a contact-bonding film into paper with theelapse of time in contact-bonding film insertion means in a firstembodiment according the present invention.

FIGS. 2A through 2G are cross-sectional views each illustrating a mainpart of a support plate to be employed in the contact-bonding filminsertion means in the first embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 3A through 3C are side views each illustrating a main part of amechanism for inserting a contact-bonding film into paper with theelapse of time in contact-bonding film insertion means in a secondembodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 4A through 4H are cross-sectional views each illustrating a mainpart of a support plate to be employed in the contact-bonding filminsertion means in the second embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 5A through 5D are side views each illustrating a main part of amechanism for inserting a contact-bonding film into paper with theelapse of time in contact-bonding film insertion means in a thirdembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual perspective view illustrating a main part ofcontact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus for cut paper that includescontact-bonding film insertion means using a support plate.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are conceptual perspective view each illustrating apositional correlation between paper and a contact-bonding film in thecontact-bonding film insertion means using a support plate as viewedfrom different positions.

FIGS. 8A through 8D are conceptual side views each illustrating a mainpart of a mechanism for inserting a contact-bonding film into paper withthe elapse of time in the contact-bonding film insertion means using asupport plate.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are a longitudinal cross-sectional view and aperspective view, respectively, each illustrating a main part of supportplate extracting means to be employed in the contact-bonding filminsertion means using a support plate prior to operation of the supportplate extracting means.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are a longitudinal cross-sectional view and aperspective view, respectively, each illustrating the main part of thesupport plate extracting means shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B in its stand-bycondition.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are a longitudinal cross-sectional view and aperspective view, respectively, each illustrating the main part of thesupport plate extracting means shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B at the start ofoperation.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view and a perspective viewillustrating a main part of the support plate extracting means shown inFIGS. 9A and 9B during operation.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a main part of a positionalcorrelation between the contact-bonding film and paper in a conditionthat an open-side periphery of an upper paper piece of the paper is wavyand partially hangs down, as viewed from the same position as in FIG.7B.

FIGS. 14A through 14C are side views each illustrating a main part ofmalfunction mechanism with the elapse of time, which malfunction may becaused when the paper in the condition that the open-side periphery ofthe upper paper piece of the paper is wavy and hangs down is used asfolded paper in the contact-bonding film insertion means using a supportplate which is not improved as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B and FIGS. 8Athrough 8D.

FIG. 15 is a side view illustrating a main part of malfunction mechanismwith the elapse of time, which malfunction may be caused when paper in acondition that an open-side periphery of a lower paper piece of thepaper is wavy and curved upward is used as folded paper in thecontact-bonding film insertion means in the first embodiment of theinvention as shown in FIGS. 1A through 1C.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention are hereinafter described withreference to the appended drawings, while comparing these embodimentswith a basic technique prior to improvement.

(1) Entire Structure of Contact-bonded Paper Manufacturing Apparatususing Cut Paper

In contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus using cut paper to whichcontact-bonding film insertion means using a support plate isapplicable, cut paper P is piled and accommodated in a stocker 11 of apaper supply section 10 as illustrated in FIG. 6. Each paper P has aplurality of paper pieces Pa and Pb connected to each other along afolding line Pc. Each paper P is sequentially taken out from the stocker11 by a feed roller 21 which partially constitutes a series of papertransfer means 20 and is transferred downstream along a predeterminedpaper transfer path 22 indicated by an arrow in an upper left direction.Subsequently, the paper P is folded into two layers by folding rollers31 which constitute paper folding means 30 and is transferred furtherdownstream along a predetermined paper transfer path 23 indicated by anarrow in the upper left direction.

An elongated contact-bonding film F includes two-layered transparentfilm each layer of which is releasably bonded to each other and adhesivelayers each disposed on front and back surfaces of the film F to provideadhesion when pressurized or when heated and pressurized. The film F issequentially supplied from a film roll 41 that constitutescontact-bonding film supply means 40 along a predeterminedcontact-bonding film supply path 42 indicated by an arrow in an upperright direction.

The paper P folded by the paper folding means 30 is transferred to anintersection 24 of the paper transfer path 23 downstream from the paperfolding means 30 and the contact-bonding film supply path 42, where thepaper P is supplied to contact-bonding film insertion means 50illustrated in detail in FIGS. 7A and 7B through 12.

The paper P passing through the contact-bonding film insertion means 50in a condition that the contact-bonding film F is inserted between thepaper pieces Pa and Pb is transferred from the intersection 24 alongdownstream paper transfer paths 25 and 26 indicated by arrows in theupper right direction as illustrated in FIG. 6. The paper P issubsequently transferred to a heat panel 71 and pressure rollers 72 eachconstituting paper contact-bonding means 70, and to a cutter 81constituting paper cutting means 80 in this order, thereby manufacturingcontact-bonded paper Q such as postcards.

(2) Basic Structure of Contact-bonding Film Insertion Means usingSupport Plate and its Operation

In the contact-bonding film insertion means 50, a support plate 51 madefrom ferromagnetic material is so supported as to be vertically movablevia a support shaft 52 disposed in the same direction as that of thecontact-bonding film supply path 42 as illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B.An electromagnet 54 constituting support plate driving means 53 isprovided below the support plate 51 as illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B.Additionally, as illustrated in FIGS. 9A and 9B, a rectangular notch 51a is formed on the support plate 51, and two pairs of feed rollers 56and 57 constituting support plate extracting means 55 are disposed aboveand below the support plate 51, respectively, such that the rollers 56and 57 are opposed to each other through the notch 51 a. In thisarrangement, the feed rollers 56 positioned above are supported via asupport member 58 in such a condition as to be vertically movable withrespect to the feed rollers 57 positioned below.

At the intersection 24, the elongated contact-bonding film F carried onthe upper surface of the support plate 51 is sequentially transferredalong the contact-bonding film supply path 42 indicated by the arrow inthe upper right direction, while the paper P folded into two layers istransferred with its open side directed to the front along the papertransfer path 23 indicated by the arrow in the upper left directionsubstantially perpendicular to the direction of the contact-bonding filmsupply path 42 as illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

The paper P having reached the intersection 24 has been folded by thepaper folding means 30 such that the lower paper piece Pb is slightlylonger than the upper paper piece Pa as illustrated in FIGS. 7A, 8A andother figures. At the intersection 24, the paper P is temporarilystopped at a position as illustrated in FIG. 8A, where the upper paperpiece Pa is disposed upstream before the support plate 51 and aperiphery Pbx of the lower paper piece Pb slightly enters below anperiphery 51 x of the support plate 51.

In this condition, the support plate 51 is drawn downward andsimultaneously moved clockwise as indicated by a circular-arc-shapedarrow in the lower right direction around the support shaft 52 byexciting the electromagnetic stone 54 of the support plate driving means53 disposed below the support plate 51 as illustrated in FIG. 8B. Whenthe periphery 51 x of the support plate 51 is lowered, the periphery Pbxof the lower paper piece Pb is pushed down by the support plate 51,thereby forcedly opening a space between the paper pieces Pa and Pb ofthe folded paper P. In this condition, the paper P having an open spacebetween the paper pieces Pa and Pb is further pushed toward the supportplate 51 carrying the contact-bonded film F in a left directionindicated by an arrow by means of a feed roller (not shown) whichconstitutes paper transfer means as well as the first half of paperpushing means 60 and a pushing bar 63 as the second half of the paperpushing means 60 attached to a support shaft 61 in such a manner as tobe movable until a stopper 62 as illustrated in FIG. 8C. Then, thesupport plate 51 and the contact-bonding film F simultaneously start tobe inserted between the paper pieces Pa and Pb. When the inner side ofthe folding line Pc of the paper P finally contacts the tip of theperiphery 51 x of the support plate 51, the paper P is stopped and thepositioning of the paper P and the contact-bonding film F with respectto the support plate 51 is completed.

Subsequently, the paper P into which the support plate 51 and thecontact-bonding film F are inserted between the paper pieces Pa and Pbas described above is transferred downstream from the intersection 24 bythe rotation of a pair of the feed rollers 56 and 57 included in thesupport plate extracting means 55 while being pressed between the feedrollers 56 and 57 as illustrated in FIGS. 10A and 10B through 12. Duringthis process, the support plate 51 is not pressed by the feed rollers 56and 57 since the notch 51 a is provided as illustrated in FIGS. 11A and11B, and thus the paper P into which only the contact-bonding film F isinserted between the paper pieces Pa and Pb is transferred downstreamfrom the intersection 24 along the paper transfer path 25 in the upperright direction indicated by the arrow as illustrated in FIG. 12 to thepaper contact-bonding means 70 and the subsequent processes illustratedin FIG. 6.

(3) Problems of Contact-bonding Film Insertion Means using Support Plate

In the contact-bonding film insertion means 50 using the support plate51 as described above, the insertion of the contact-bonding film Fbetween the paper pieces Pa and Pb is carried out smoothly by theprocedures shown in FIGS. 8C and 8D without any problem, when anopen-side periphery Pax of the upper paper piece Pa of the paper P issubstantially flat, has certain elasticity and extends almost straightwithout hanging down as illustrated in FIGS. 7A, 7B and 8A and 8B.

However, when the paper P is extremely curled to have concave and convexdeformations on its surface through printing or other process asillustrated in FIG. 13, the periphery Pax of the upper paper piece Pa iswavy as shown in FIG. 13 at the stage when the paper P is temporarilystopped at a position where the upper paper piece Pa is disposedupstream before the support plate 51 and the periphery Pbx of the lowerpaper piece Pb slightly enters below the periphery 51 x of the supportplate 51 at the intersection 24. As a result, the periphery Pax hangsdown toward the lower paper piece Pb as illustrated in FIG. 14A. In thenext step, the support plate 51 is lowered by the support plate drivingmeans 53 and thus the periphery Pbx of the lower paper piece Pb ispushed down by the support plate 51, but the space between the upper andlower paper pieces Pa and Pb is not sufficiently opened as illustratedin FIG. 14B. In the subsequent step, the paper P having aninsufficiently opened space between the paper pieces Pa and Pb is pushedtoward the support plate 51 carrying the contact-bonding film F in theleft direction as indicated by the arrow by means of the paper pushingmeans 60 (see FIGS. 8C and 8D), but the support plate 51 carrying thecontact-bonding film F is not inserted between the paper pieces Pa andPb smoothly. Instead, for example, the hanging periphery Pax of theupper paper piece Pa is caught by a periphery Fx of the contact-bondingfilm F, and slides between the contact-bonding film F and the supportplate 51 as illustrated in FIG. 14C or in some cases slides below thesupport plate 51. Consequently, jamming or other problem may arise.

(4) Contact-bonding Film Insertion Means of a First Embodiment forSolving the Above Problem

In contact-bonding film insertion means 501 in the first embodimentaccording to the present invention as illustrated in FIGS. 1A through1C, a slope 51 y is provided in the periphery 51 x of the support plate51 on the side to be inserted between the paper pieces Pa and Pb. Theslope 51 y has a linear cross section and is downward-inclined towardits tip to form substantially an acute angle at the tip, and extendsabove the periphery 51 x of the support plate 51 and further above theperiphery Fx of the contact-bonding film F placed on the support plate51, which periphery Fx is on the side to be inserted between the paperpieces Pa and Pb, whereby the slope 51 y has an arrow-shaped crosssection. A step-shaped contact portion 51 b for guiding the periphery Fxof the contact-bonding film F on the side to be inserted between thepaper pieces Pa and Pb is also provided in the periphery 51 x adjacentto the rear of the slope 51 y.

More specifically, when the paper P which is curled to have concave andconvex deformations on its surface is supplied to the contact-bondingfilm insertion means 501 which uses the support plate 51 having theabove structure, the periphery Pax of the upper paper piece Pa hangsdown toward the lower paper piece Pb as shown in FIG. 1A at the stagewhen the paper P is temporarily stopped at a position where the upperpaper piece Pa is disposed upstream before the support plate 51 and theperiphery Pbx of the lower paper piece Pb slightly enters below theperiphery 51 x of the support plate 51. In the next step, the peripheryPbx of the lower paper piece Pb is pushed down by the support plate 51which is lowered by the support plate driving means 53, but the spacebetween the upper and lower paper pieces Pa and Pb is not sufficientlyopened as illustrated in FIG. 1B. In the subsequent step, however, theacute-angled tip of the slope 51 y of the support plate 51 enters intothe insufficiently opened space between the paper pieces Pa and Pb asthe paper P is pushed toward the support plate 51 carrying thecontact-bonding film F by means of the paper pushing means 60 (see FIGS.8C and 8D) as illustrated in FIG. 1C. Due to the wedge shape of theslope 51 y, the periphery Pax of the upper paper piece Pa slides on theslope 51 y of the support plate 51, passes through the top of the slope51 y, and overrides the upper surface of the contact-bonding film F. Asa result, the space between the paper pieces Pa and Pb is forcedlyopened, and the insertion of the support plate 51 and thecontact-bonding film F between the paper pieces Pa and Pb is carried outsmoothly.

Examples of the support plate 51 which can be used in thecontact-bonding film insertion means 501 in the first embodimentinvolve: support plates each of which includes the periphery 51 x whichis provided with the slope 51 y having a linear cross section and has anarrow-shaped cross section as illustrated in FIGS. 1A through 1C, FIG.2A and FIGS. 2E through 2G; and support plates each of which includesthe periphery 51 x which is provided with the slope 51 y having a curvedcross section and has an arrow-shaped cross section as illustrated inFIGS. 2B through 2D.

In the support plates 51 as illustrated in FIGS. 2A through 2G, each ofthe slopes 51 y extends above the periphery 51 x of the support plate 51on the side to be inserted between the paper pieces Pa and Pb, and astep-shaped or bended contact portion 51 b for guiding the periphery Fxof the contact-bonding film F is also provided in the periphery 51 xadjacent to the rear of the slope 51 y, in similar manners asillustrated in FIGS. 1A through 1C. The support plate 51 shown in FIG.2D has the slope 51 y that extends below the periphery 51 x. The supportplate 51 shown in FIG. 2E is provided with a separate component 59having a wedge-shaped cross section in the periphery 51 x and the top ofthe slope 51 y is formed on the separate component 59 such that the topoverhangs the upper surface of the periphery 51 x. In the support plate51 shown in FIG. 2F, the acute-angled tip of the slope 51 in theperiphery 51 x which has an arrow-shaped cross section shown in FIG. 2Ais chamfered and/or processed to have an R shape. In the support plate51 shown in FIG. 2G, the top of the slope 51 in the periphery 51 x whichhas an arrow-shaped cross section shown in FIG. 2A overhangs the uppersurface of the periphery 51 x.

Needless to say, other examples of the support plate 51 which aremodified such that each slope 51 y of the support plates 51 shown inFIGS. 2A through 2G does not extend above the periphery 51 x of thesupport plate 51 can be employed in the contact-bonding film insertionmeans 501, though such examples are not shown in the figures.

(5) Second Problem of Contact-bonding Film Insertion Means using SupportPlate

As described above, the problem of jamming occurs when the periphery Paxof the upper paper piece Pa of the paper P hangs down as illustrated inFIG. 14A and the space between the paper pieces Pa and Pb is notcompletely opened even in the condition where the periphery Pbx of thelower paper piece Pb is pushed down by the support plate driving means53 as illustrated in FIG. 14B. This problem can be solved by providingany of the slopes 51 y shown in FIGS. 1A through 1C and FIGS. 2A through2G in the periphery 51 x of the support plate 51.

However, when the paper P which is curled through printing and whoseperiphery Pbx of the lower paper piece Pb is thus curved upward istransferred to the intersection 24, the periphery Pbx of the lower paperpiece Pb does not slide below the support plate 51 as desired as shownin FIG. 1A, but overrides the slope 51 y in the periphery of the supportplate 51 as illustrated in FIG. 15. As a result, the periphery Pbx ofthe lower paper piece Pb cannot be pushed down by the support platedriving means 53 and thus jamming is caused.

(6) Contact-bonding Film Insertion Means of a Second Embodiment forSolving the Second Problem

In contact-bonding film insertion means 502 in the second embodiment,the periphery 51 x which includes the slope 51 y having a shape and astructure shown in FIGS. 1A through 1C is curved upward with respect tothe main body of the support plate 51 as illustrated in FIGS. 3A through3C, thereby providing a wide open space below the support plate 51.

More specifically, in the contact-bonding film insertion means 502 whichincludes the support plate 51 having the above structure, the lowerpaper piece Pb of the paper P which is folded and transferred to theintersection 24 easily slides into the wide open space below theperiphery 51 x of the support plate which is curved upward, even if theperiphery Pbx of the lower paper piece Pb is curved upward asillustrated in FIG. 3A. In the subsequent step, the periphery Pbx of thelower paper piece Pb is normally pushed down by the downward movement ofthe support plate 51 effected by the support plate driving means 53 asillustrated in FIG. 3B. In the next step, the support plate 51 and thecontact-bonding film F are smoothly inserted between the paper pieces Paand Pb due to the wedge shape of the slope 51 y as the paper P is pushedtoward the support plate 51 carrying the contact-film F by the paperpushing means 60 (see FIGS. 8C and 8D) as illustrated in FIG. 3C, in thesame manner as in the contact-bonding film insertion means 50 in thefirst embodiment.

Examples of the support plate 51 which can be used in thecontact-bonding film insertion means 502 in the second embodimentinvolve: support plates each of which includes the periphery 51 x whichis provided with the slope 51 y shown in FIGS. 2A through 2E and iscurved upward having a linear cross section as illustrated in FIGS. 4Athrough 4E; a support plate including the periphery 51 x which has theslope 51 y shown in FIG. 2A and is curved upward having a curved crosssection as illustrated in FIG. 4F; a support plate including theperiphery 51 x which has the slope 51 y shown in FIG. 2A and is curvedupward at two points having a linear cross section as illustrated inFIG. 4G; and a support plate including the periphery 51 x which has theslope 51 y not extending above the periphery 51 x and is curved upwardhaving a linear cross section as illustrated in FIG. 4H. In the supportplate 51 shown in FIG. 4H, the curved portion produced by curving theperiphery 51 x is utilized as the contact portion 51 b capable ofguiding the periphery Fx of the contact-bonding film F as necessary.Needless to say, it is possible to employ other examples of the supportplate 51 in the contact-bonding film insertion means 502, such as thoseincluding the peripheries 51 x which are provided with the slopes 51 yshown in FIGS. 2F and 2G and are curved upward having linear or curvedcross sections, though such examples are not shown in the figures.

(7) Contact-bonding Film Insertion Means of a Third Embodiment forSolving the Second Problem

As illustrated in FIGS. 5A through 5D, contact-bonding film insertionmeans 503 in the third embodiment has a structure similar to that of thecontact-bonding film insertion means 501 including the support plate 51whose periphery 51 x has the slope 51 y having the shape and structureshown in FIGS. 1A through 1C. The periphery 51 x of the support plate 51in which the slope 51 y is formed is temporarily raised by support plateraising means 65 before the lower paper piece Pb of the paper Ptransferred to the intersection 24 reaches the support plate 51, therebyproviding a wide open space below the support plate 51 at the time whenthe space is required.

More specifically, in the contact-bonding film insertion means 503 usingthe support plate 51 and having the above structure, the folded paper Pis transferred to the intersection 24 as illustrated in FIG. 5A. Then, apush rod 67 is raised by exciting a solenoid 66 which constitutes thesupport plate raising means 65 before the lower paper piece Pb of thepaper P reaches the support plate 51 as illustrated in FIG. 5B. By theaction of the push rod 67, the support plate 51 moves anticlockwise inan upper left direction indicated by a circular-arc-shaped arrow fromthe position of a lower limit stopper 68 around the support shaft 52,and the periphery 51 x having the slope 51 y is temporarily moved upwardto an upper limit stopper 69. As a result, the lower paper piece Pb ofthe paper P can easily slide into the wide open space below theperiphery 51 x of the support plate 51 even if the periphery Pbx of thelower paper piece Pb is curved upward. In the subsequent step, the pushrod 67 is lowered by de-exciting the solenoid 66 of the support plateraising means 65 as illustrated in FIG. 5C, and simultaneously theperiphery Pbx of the lower paper piece Pb is normally pushed down by thedownward movement of the support plate 51 effected by the support platedriving means 53. Accordingly, in the next step, the support plate 51and the contact-bonding film F are smoothly inserted between the paperpieces Pa and Pb due to the wedge shape of the slope 51 y as the paper Pis pushed toward the support plate 51 carrying the contact-film F by thepaper pushing means 60 (see FIGS. 8C and 8D) as illustrated in FIG. 5D,in the same manner as in the contact-bonding film insertion means 501 inthe first embodiment.

While the support plate 51 included in the contact-bonding filminsertion means 501 is used in the contact-bonding film insertion means503, the support plate 51 included in the contact-bonding insertionmeans 502 can be also employed appropriately.

Needless to say, the above preferred embodiments of the presentinvention are described with the appended drawings only for betterunderstandings of the invention, and various modifications and revisionscan be made without departing from the scope and spirit of theinvention.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As aforementioned, the contact-bonding film insertion means included inthe contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus according to thepresent invention can be adopted in contact-bonded paper manufacturingapparatus using cut paper to produce direct mails, postcards, doublepostcards, sealed letters and so forth from cut paper. Thecontact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus including thecontact-bonding film insertion means is capable of manufacturingcontact-bonded paper without being jammed, which paper is releasable andexpandable and also conceals a large volume of information inside thepaper.

1. Contact-bonding film insertion means included in contact-bonded papermanufacturing apparatus which comprises: paper transfer means forsequentially transferring cut paper from a paper supply section along apredetermined paper transfer path, which cut paper is formed byconnecting a plurality of paper pieces with each other along foldinglines; paper folding means for folding each paper on the paper transferpath; contact-bonding film supply means for sequentially supplying anelongated contact-bonding film along a predetermined contact-bondingfilm supply path, which contact-bonding film includes a two-layeredtransparent film whose layers are releasably bonded to each other andadhesive layers each disposed on front and back surfaces of thecontact-bonding film to provide adhesion when pressurized or when heatedand pressurized; contact-bonding film insertion means for insertingcontact-bonding film between any opposed paper pieces of the foldedpaper at an intersection of the paper transfer path downstream from thepaper folding means and the contact-bonding film supply path; papercontact-bonding means for releasably bonding both the paper pieces ofthe paper into which the contact-bonding film is inserted, via thecontact-bonding film by pressurizing or by heating and pressurizing onthe paper transfer path downstream from the contact-bonding filminsertion means; and paper cutting means for cutting the paper intowhich the contact-bonding film is inserted to a predetermined size onthe paper transfer path upstream or downstream from the papercontact-bonding means, the contact-bonding film insertion means having astructure which includes: a vertically movable support plate disposed atthe intersection to carry the supplied contact-bonding film on its uppersurface; support plate driving means capable of driving the supportplate in the vertical direction for lowering the support plate and thecontact-bonding film as one body and thereby pushing down a lower paperpiece so as to forcedly open a space between the paper pieces when thepaper folded such that the lower paper piece is slightly longer than theupper paper piece is transferred to the intersection and the upper paperpiece of the paper is disposed upstream from the support plate and thelower paper piece is disposed below the support plate; paper pushingmeans for pushing the paper having an open space between the paperpieces to the support plate carrying the contact-bonding film andthereby simultaneously inserting the support plate and thecontact-bonding film between the paper pieces; and support plateextracting means for extracting only the support plate from the paperinto which the support plate and the contact-bonding film have beeninserted and thereby leaving only the contact-bonding film insertedbetween the paper pieces, characterized in that a periphery of thesupport plate on the side to be inserted between the paper pieces has aslope which is downward-inclined toward the tip of the periphery to formsubstantially an acute angle at the tip.
 2. Contact-bonding filminsertion means included in contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatusas set forth in claim 1, wherein the slope extends above the peripheryof the support plate on the side to be inserted between the paperpieces.
 3. Contact-bonding film insertion means included incontact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus as set forth in claim 2,wherein the slope has a linear and/or curved cross section. 4.Contact-bonding film insertion means included in contact-bonded papermanufacturing apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein the slope isformed by a separate component attached to the periphery of the supportplate.
 5. Contact-bonding film insertion means included incontact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus as set forth in anyone ofclaim 2, wherein the tip of the slope provided in the periphery ischamfered or processed to have an R shape.
 6. Contact-bonding filminsertion means included in contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatusas set forth in claim 2, wherein a contact portion for guiding aperiphery of the contact-bonding film on the side to be inserted betweenthe paper pieces is provided adjacent to the rear of the slope. 7.Contact-bonding film insertion means included in contact-bonded papermanufacturing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the slope has alinear and/or curved cross section.
 8. Contact-bonding film insertionmeans included in contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus as setforth in claim 7, wherein the slope is formed by a separate componentattached to the periphery of the support plate.
 9. Contact-bonding filminsertion means included in contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatusas set forth in anyone of claim 7, wherein the tip of the slope providedin the periphery is chamfered or processed to have an R shape. 10.Contact-bonding film insertion means included in contact-bonded papermanufacturing apparatus as set forth in claim 7, wherein a contactportion for guiding a periphery of the contact-bonding film on the sideto be inserted between the paper pieces is provided adjacent to the rearof the slope.
 11. Contact-bonding film insertion means included incontact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus as set forth in claim 1,wherein the slope is formed by a separate component attached to theperiphery of the support plate.
 12. Contact-bonding film insertion meansincluded in contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus as set forth inanyone of claim 7, wherein the tip of the slope provided in theperiphery is chamfered or processed to have an R shape. 13.Contact-bonding film insertion means included in contact-bonded papermanufacturing apparatus as set forth in claim 11, wherein a contactportion for guiding a periphery of the contact-bonding film on the sideto be inserted between the paper pieces is provided adjacent to the rearof the slope.
 14. Contact-bonding film insertion means included incontact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus as set forth in claim 1,wherein the tip of the slope provided in the periphery is chamfered orprocessed to have an R shape.
 15. Contact-bonding film insertion meansincluded in contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus as set forth inclaim 14, wherein a contact portion for guiding a periphery of thecontact-bonding film on the side to be inserted between the paper piecesis provided adjacent to the rear of the slope.
 16. Contact-bonding filminsertion means included in contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatusas set forth in claim 1, wherein a contact portion for guiding aperiphery of the contact-bonding film on the side to be inserted betweenthe paper pieces is provided adjacent to the rear of the slope. 17.Contact-bonding film insertion means included in contact-bonded papermanufacturing apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein the peripheryhaving the slope is curved upward with respect to the main body of thesupport plate.
 18. Contact-bonding film insertion means included incontact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus as set forth in claim 17,wherein the periphery having the slope is curved to have a linear and/orcurved cross section.
 19. Contact-bonding film insertion means includedin contact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus as set forth in claim 1,wherein the periphery of the support plate in which the slope is formedis temporarily raised by support plate raising means before the lowerpaper piece of the paper transferred to the intersection reaches thesupport plate.
 20. Contact-bonding film insertion means included incontact-bonded paper manufacturing apparatus as set forth in claim 19,wherein the support plate raising means raises the support plate using apush rod which is disposed below the support plate and driven by drivingmeans.